I just can't wrap my head around how incredibly intuitive and advanced he is on really complicated science and then watching him having to re figure out stuff it seems like he should have memorized so that its automatic. But I do suspect that he on some level chooses to not memorize the math facts. I sort of suspect that he will prove to be very good in math, but just not the same as in science
I suspect that once he does get to that point where it's automatic, he'll stop resisting so much, and his interest and ability will take off. That's what we saw with my DD8 (whose mind operates much like mine does). She was working on calculating area and perimeter in her G/T class by counting boxes, and she found it as outrageous as I found a page of 5-column subtraction problems at her age. We pulled her out and homeschooled her, and one of the first things to happen in math was memorization of the multiplication tables. She resisted, and she hated the process. As that was progressing, DW was introducing new concepts that relied on those, like long division and adding/subtracting fractions with uncommon denominators. Because she had already mastered whatever multiplication values DW used in sample exercises at that particular time, DD breezed through the calculation parts, and found herself excited about math. She now declares it her favorite subject.
For a kid like this, it might also be helpful to get away from memorizing single-digit addition and subtraction, and instead give him a simple algorithm he can use to figure it out. For example, 8 + 7... 8 is only two away from ten, move the two over from the 7, and you have five left.
Personally, I hate the term "math facts," because there are a great many facts in math that have nothing to do with simple addition and multiplication. Also, when you switch out of base 10, the "math facts" change.
